


Changing Tides

by SwanQueenScotty



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, Rape/Non-con Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-24
Updated: 2017-12-10
Packaged: 2019-01-22 16:55:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12486372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SwanQueenScotty/pseuds/SwanQueenScotty
Summary: Loosely based on the film/novel “The Prince of Tides”.Emma gets a call from a psychiatrist, Dr Regina Mills, to inform her that her foster brother has attempted suicide, but is alive and in a coma. She asks Emma to come to New York to support him and help her figure out why August did this. In doing so, they go into a journey into Emma’s dark past and along the way they fall in love. Crappy summary but it best I got.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Swen](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Swen).



> I've written 3 chapters so far, but I can't say when next update will be as I have an eleven month old baby to care for...  
> This is my 2nd fic for Once Upon a Time (first AU) and I'm a hardcore Swan Queen shipper. So if you don't like Swan Queen then don't read this.  
> Would just like to add that as the story goes on, it gets a bit darker. Will warn at the beginning of the chapter when it happens.  
> Also, I done have a beta, but I hate bad grammar so if you spot any mistakes then please feel free to let me know.  
> And on that note:
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon a Time or any characters from this show, blah blah blah...

Emma rolled over in her double bed with a loud groan and switched off her alarm clock that was blaring off her iPhone. She couldn’t remember setting it. In fact she was sure she hadn’t. When she swiped her phone to switch it off she thought that was that. But then she heard a voice. A deep sexy female voice. 

“Hello, am I speaking to Miss Emma Swan? Hello…?”

Emma looked at the time on her phone. 7h17. Uuuggghhhh! 

“Hello?” Emma groaned.

“Hello? Is this Emma Swan?”

“Yes. Do you know what time it is? Nobody I know would phone me this early on a Saturday morning.” Emma yawned into her phone whilst rubbing her eyes.

“You don’t know me, Miss S- “

“Then what are you doing calling me at this time for?” Emma snapped

“Miss Swan, I am Dr Regina Mills. I am calling-“ 

“I don’t need a doctor.” Emma cut her off again.

“Miss Swan! If you would just let me talk.” Regina rolled her eyes, exasperated.

“Fine,” Emma sighed, “What can I do for you, Doctor?”

“Thank-you. As I was saying… I am Dr Regina Mills. I am a Psychiatrist at The Mount Sinai Hospital and I am calling on behalf of your brother-“

“I don’t have a brother.”

“I beg your pardon? Are you sure -” Regina was confused. 

“I said that I don’t have a brother.”

“Oh…. Um. You are a Miss Emma Swan?”

“Yes, I already told you that!”

“Sorry, I am confused. I got your number off my patient’s records informing me that you are his next of kin. In fact it clearly states that you are his sister.”

“And you are this person’s psychiatrist? Isn’t that your first clue? Perhaps he is a nutcase!”

“Miss Swan! I will not allow you to speak ill of my patient!” Regina was getting fed up now and wondering if she should just hang up. But no, her patient needed a support system.

“What is your patient’s name?”

“Well, that is confidential informa –“

“Uh, hello!? You are the one calling me! Telling me that I have a nutcase claiming to be my brother? That my name and number are on his medical record?”

“Fine… August Booth is –“

“August!? What’s wrong? What happened to him?”

“I thought you said you didn’t know him.”

“No, I said I didn’t have a brother. God, don’t you listen?”

“So he is not your family?”

“No… well, sort of…. I haven’t seen him in at least 4 yrs.”

“Miss Swan, is he or is he not your family?”

“August doesn’t have family. He is an orphan. So am I. If you want to be technical about it, then yes. He is…was my foster brother. We grew up in the same group home.”

“Oh, I see. Well I’m sorry to inform you me, Miss Swan, but –“ 

“Is he dead?” Emma said flatly, expecting the worst.

“No. But he did try to commit suicide last night.”

“Oh God, August...” Emma sighed.

“Would you be able to come over here to see him, Miss Swan?”

“Where exactly is this hospital, Dr Mills?”

“New York.”

“New York!?” Emma had to laugh. “God! I’ve just come home from New York. In fact I arrived home last night! Or actually it was technically this morning.”

“And where is home, Miss Swan?”

“Tallahassee.” Emma covered her face with her left palm. She really didn’t want to go back to New York. But she was now desperate to see August.

“I see…. Is there any way you can come back?”

“Ha! Do I have a choice?” Emma almost laughed. The timing really sucked – she would have to ask for more time off work now.

“Well… you are the only person he has down on his contacts. I would really like to speak to someone who knows him well.”

“We haven’t seen each other in a long time. In fact, I didn’t even know where the hell he lived. If I had known he was in New York. God! Ok, I just need to sort some stuff out and get a flight. I will be there today… at some point.”

“That is very good of you. I will see you later. Just come to my office first. I will text you the address.”

“Fine. See you later, Doctor.”

“Good-bye, Miss Swan. See you soon!”

With that, they both hung up and both sighed. Regina hoped that she had contacted the right person. Emma hoped that she could actually make it back to New York at all. But she had to. For August, she would just have to.


	2. Chapter 2

Well. That was that then. Emma Swan was out of a job and on her way back to New York to see a man who claimed to be her brother. A man she hadn’t seen in years and, frankly, she never thought that she would ever see him again. Sure they were close when they were at the group home. But he was older than her and left the system way before she did. He did keep in touch and would send her money every now and then. Money she had managed to save up so that she could one day run away and never look back at another group home again. But she didn’t exactly.

One Autumn day when Emma was 17, she arrived at her group home late after school to get punched in the face by the woman who ran the group home. Iris was her name. Iris Turnbull. Iris had accused Emma of stealing her money when she found the stash of cash, that August had been sending her, hidden in a thin box under Emma’s mattress. Iris wouldn’t believe Emma that it was her money since why would anyone send Emma money, anyway. Plus, Iris had money missing from her purse and she obviously assumed Emma had been stealing from her. So Emma was told to collect her things and get out – without the money. Over $600. That was how much was in the box. Not a lot to the average person, but to Emma, it felt like a million bucks. And so she was penniless and homeless.

Emma shook her head and exhaled a deep breath as she thought back on that day. She remembered she had tried to find August, but without any money, she didn’t get very far. She ended up stealing the VW Beetle that she was now driving back to New York in. That had been her home and that had been how she first met Neal. Neal. Ha! If she ever saw him again, she honestly didn’t know what she would do to him. Was she capable of murder? She never thought so until Neal had conned her and had her take the rap for a bag watches he had stolen. 11 months! She was in a juvenile correction facility for 11 months because of him. And pregnant. She had to endure being pregnant in and giving birth to a baby boy. Unfortunately there were complications during the birth. Her son had to live with a disability due to a forceps delivery gone wrong. She couldn’t keep him, though, but was able to make sure he got adopted. And now she had a criminal record which she was trying her hardest to redeem herself of. She had taken odd jobs, but realised quite quickly that she was good at finding people. She even managed to track down August, but they lost touch again after he went abroad to go “find himself.” That was about 4 years ago. Now he is in some mental hospital in New York. God, what the hell!

Emma had a long drive ahead of her. She was going to have to break up her journey because no way could she drive for over 16 hours straight. Even if she had someone to share the driving with her which she didn’t. She was alone with her thoughts. And she thought a lot. She wasn’t sure how she could help, but she knew that she had to be there for him just like he was for her all those years ago. Especially on that one terrible night.

Emma had texted his Doctor to let her know that she was driving to New York and that she would be there sometime the next day. Dr Regina Mills wasn’t happy with that – she expected Emma to just jump on the next flight to New York. Who knew if her patient would still be alive when Emma got there. He was in ICU at the moment, and in a coma. She let Emma know her thoughts and Emma let Regina know hers too. Emma was mad. How dare this doctor just tell her what to do. But she didn’t want to tell this Regina that she just got fired from her bounty hunter’s job and that she had packed up as much as she could into her bug and was actually moving to New York indefinitely. She just didn’t know where she was going to stay exactly. She didn’t really know anyone in New York – apart from August now. Maybe she could crash at his place? Did he actually even live in New York City or one of the Boroughs? Oh well, she would find out soon enough.


	3. Chapter 3

Emma had been on the road for almost 8 hours with only one toilet break at a nasty looking gas station in Pooler. She needed to sleep desperately. She had left Tallahassee just after 11 that morning, after a row with her now former boss, and she was now passing through Fayetteville in North Carolina. A motel caught her eye, so she indicated to turn off the motorway and headed towards it. It was just after 7:30 pm when she parked up in front of the entrance to the reception. She quickly darted out, locked her car and went in to enquire if there were any rooms available. Luckily she managed to snag the last one. 

Emma entered her no-frills motel room carrying an overnight bag. She shut and locked the door before kicking off her shoes and belly flopping onto the surprisingly comfortable bed and released a sigh. Her stomach let out a huge groan. 

“Alrighty then, I better get some food in you”, she rolled her eyes as she spoke to her stomach. Just as she realised there was no room service but remembered there was a vending machine just outside her room that had chips, chocolates and sodas. 

Just as she was putting money into the machine to pay for her coke and barbecue flavoured Lays chips, her phone rang. 

“Yeah!?” She answered, without checking caller ID, the machine kept spitting her quarters out. “What the fuck, man! Swallow!”  
“I beg your pardon, Miss Swan?” A stern yet familiar voice echoed through to her ear.

“Doctor?” Emma asked as she kept feeding more quarters into the machine until they were all finally accepted only to throw out the wrong soda and a chunky kit Kat. “God!! Why are you doing this to me!? I really wanted those chips!”

“Miss Swan, where the hell are you? I was expecting you to be here by now! Time is precious! Your brother could be dying as we speak!” Regina shouted over all the commotion she could hear in the background where things were obviously not going Miss Swan’s way. She then heard something drop and fizz.

“Dammit!” Emma had dropped her soda can which then burst open and wet the bottom of her left jeans leg. “Great! Now look at what you made me do! I’m all sticky!” Emma practically whined. 

“Now listen here, Miss-”

“No,you listen here, lady! I told you that I was driving over! It’s a freakin’ long drive so I’ve stopped in North Carolina to get a few hrs sleep and then I’ll be on the road again. Okay!?” And with that, Emma’s stomach let out another huge groan which even Regina heard on her side. “That was my stomach. I’m tired and hungry and this damn vending machine is a demon spawn,dishing out the wrong items and faulty soda cans that explode on impact of hard surfaces. Even when dropped from little height which I did thanks to you!”

“How did I cause you to drop-”

“You distracted me! And I’ve only got use of one hand since I’m using the other to hold my phone!” 

“Miss Swan! Will you please desist from yelling!”

“What? You started!”

“I beg your pardon, but I did no such thing.”

“Uh huh, did too!”

“God, you’re a child! My 10 year old son has better manners than you.”

“Hey! Take that back!” But as Emma thought back, she realised she had started shouting first. “Damn, you’re right. Look, I’m sorry, Doctor Mills. I’m just tired and cranky. I should let you go and get some sleep.” 

“It’s alright, Miss Swan”, Regina sighed. “I realise it has been a trying day for you. I’ll let you go get some sleep. Can you just tell me why you chose to drive when flying would have gotten you here quicker?”

“I… got fired…or quit.”

“You what!?” Regina gasped.

“Not sure actually. Anyway, I couldn’t afford a flight so I just packed up my shit and I’m moving to New York. I worked as a bails bondsman so I’m sure I can pick something up in the city. Anyway, August needs me. I owe him big time.”

“I see. Well, I’ll let you go. Just come straight to hospital when you get here. If you go to the reception, they will page me and I’ll meet you there. Take care and drive safely, Miss Swan. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Doc.” 

And with that they hung up. Emma went back to her room, ate her kit Kat, drank whatever was left in her soda can and then stripped down to her underwear. She set her alarm to wake her up in 4 hours time and then she was asleep before her head even hit the pillow.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I’ve taken so long to update. Haven’t had time what with being a mom to a 12.5 month old baby. 
> 
> Here’s a chapter about Regina...

Regina sighed as she ended the call. Was she doing the right thing getting this Emma Swan woman to come see her patient. She didn’t seem responsible and had quite a chaotic temper. Did August even want her to know what he tried to do? He hadn’t been in touch with Emma for years. Maybe there was a reason for that. Damn, what if Emma made his situation worse? Perhaps she should call Emma back and tell her to not come. But Emma just told her she quit her job to come see August. He must mean something to her. God, what a mess. Maybe she could just get the information she needs from Emma and then send her back to Tallahassee. Yes, that’s what she would do. Regina quickly looked at her watch to see it was way past Henry’s bedtime and she could still hear him playing his Mario Kart. She put her phone down on the kitchen issues before she made her way back to the living-room.

“Henry, have you seen the time? Switch that off and go get ready for bed.”

“But mom, it’s Sunday tomorrow! Can’t I just finish this race?”

“It appears you have. You just crashed. Again.”

“That’s ‘cause you’re distracting me!”

“Don’t forget you have a violin lesson in the morning with Eugenia , it’s at 9 am sharp.”

“Mooooom! I don’t like her, she’s too strict. I don’t even like violin. Can’t I try the trumpet instead. Or a sport. They’re having football tryouts on Monday!” 

“Henry, please, you know how your father feels about football! It’s way too dangerous and if you hurt yourself then I’d never forgive myself. Besides, we have already spent a lot of money on your lessons and your violin. And you’re very good at it.”

“But I’d be careful, mom. Please? Just let me try out. We wouldn’t even have to tell Dad. I probably won’t even make the team, but at least I’ll have tried.” 

“And if your father found out, we’d both get it.” Regina said as she made a cut throat motion with her right hand index finger. 

“I won’t tell him if you don’t, “ Henry smirked.”

“I’ll think about it-“

“YES!” Henry jumped and practically tackled her as he hugged his mom.”

“I said I’d think about it!” Regina half laughed as she was held tightly by her son. Her heart swelled as she tried to recall the last time he’d hug her like this. It had been too long. “Now go get ready for bed before I change my mind. You are still having your lesson tomorrow. “ Henry was about to protest – “But you can even read a couple of chapters of your new book if you go now without protesting. I’ll come up in a little bit to say goodnight.” Regina kissed the top of Henry’s head before she released him from the hug.

“Okay! Thanks mom.”

With that, Henry rushed away and left Regina to tidy up after him. But she didn’t mind. Not after receiving that hug. She promised from now on, she’d try to be a better mom. She knew he hated the violin, but his father was adamant that he take after him. Regina didn’t really care that much about the instrument itself. She just wanted her son to be happy… and right now, if Henry really wanted to play football then she’d at least let him try. It wasn’t like high school football, anyway. It was flag football, so no tackling was allowed. But some kids were still way too rough and Henry was small for his age so of course she worried about his safety. Hopefully her husband wouldn’t find out. And if he did, then she’d just have to deal with it. As long as Henry was happy.

After Regina turned off the game console and put away the game and tidied the lounge, she went up stairs to fully expecting Henry to still be reading his book. But as she opened the door, Henry was sleeping with his book laced open on his chest. He must have been more tired than he thought. She approached his bed and gently removed his book and put his bookmark in place before closing it and putting it on his bedside table. She thought it was odd how he still loved his fairytales, but he insisted that this fairytale was different to all the rest and much more boyish, though he secretly still loved “Snow White”. Regina switched off his light and bent down to kiss his forehead and pull up his duvet to cover him properly before she left his room. She didn’t close his door all the way and left the hall light on.

As she got herself ready for bed, Regina’s mind wondered once again to Emma Swan she hoped that Emma would be able to help August. He’s only been her patient for about five months, but he seemed like a genuinely good – yet troubled – man and she really wanted to help him. Her final thought after she reached over and switched off her bedside lamp was what Emma looked like. Judging by her voice, she for some reason imagined her to be blonde. And since she told Regina that she was a bail bonds person, she imagined Emma to be quite fit. She fell asleep wondering just how fit Emma was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can’t decide who her husband should be. Robin or Leopold? Who do you guys think? Or someone else entirely?


End file.
